UK supercomputers could enable groundbreaking scientific research

The computers are designed to deliver complex simulations across a range of scientific disciplines and are funded by four of the UK Research Councils, EPSRC, STFC, NERC and BBSRC. According to the researchers, the combined performance of the supercomputers is akin to every person on the planet simultaneously carrying out more than 250,000 calculations per second. This computing capacity will be used to help in forecasting the impact of climate change, the fundamental structure of matter, fluctuations in ocean currents and the structure of the universe. Both the HECToR and BlueGene/Q facilities have approximately the same computational performance, 800Teraflops. HECToR has a memory of 90Terabytes – equivalent to that of over 180,000 iPhones. It also has one Petabyte of disk space for storing data. If an iPhone had that much space it could hold 200million tracks. The BlueGene/Q design achieves a very high concentration of computing power in a small space and is described by the researchers as 'the most energy efficient supercomputer ever built'. Using just the electricity it takes to power a light bulb it can perform the calculations of 100 laptops. Minister for Universities and Science, David Willets, launched the new phases of research at an event hosted by the University of Edinburgh and the UK Research Councils. "E-infrastructure is fundamental to modern research and development," he said. "It helps our world leading science base achieve breakthroughs across a range of important disciplines and helps industry design and manufacture new products. These impressive new supercomputers will drive growth and innovation, They will provide UK businesses and researchers with the technology they need to compete successfully on a global scale."